ShopBack - RM30 Million Cash Splashed

Co-founder Sharmeen Looi says the programme, introduced in Malaysia in 2015, has already reached one million users. The company is now ramping up efforts to introduce the programme to more people. “There’s another 29 million users that we need to reach," says Looi.

Shopback, founded in Singapore, offers as much as 30 percent cashback on online purchases where members can eventually cash out through their bank account.

“We have been around for over four years now. In order for us to have more users, we must strengthen our services. Currently, we want to focus on expanding our merchant offers. At the same time, on-board our merchants' app to ShopBacks’ app," says Looi.

She adds that Malaysians are very mobile savvy and shops heavily on e-commerce platforms - good news for ShopBack that receives a commission for every approved transaction on partnered stores. ShopBack then shares part of this commission with members.

“Malaysia is becoming a very app heavy market; we need to ride with it," says Looi. "We are now the pioneer shopping app-to-app integration platform in the region."

Founded in 2014, ShopBack operates in seven countries in Asia Pacific - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia, which it expanded to last year. It has over 2000 partner stores on board.

Shopbacks don’t just offer the opportunity to members to earn money while shopping, it also offers rewards and rebates while directing users to marketplaces – adding value to parties on both sides of the transaction.

“The business model we use is affiliate marketing. We partner with brands like Lazada, Zalora, Agoda and many others. We serve as platform for them to access to new customers.”

Asked about its future plans, Looi says the company is looking to venture into new markets in the region.

“We are planning to expand our business and services to countries like Vietnam. We already have a research and development team there. We feel that Vietnam is a very mature market for e-commerce and our presence in the country is good for business.”

Watch the full interview with Sharmeen Looi below: